Tennis fans have a new view as they walk back to the 7 train after the Open: a stadium is growing on the other side of Roosevelt Avenue.

Citi Field, which will open next spring, will be the home of the New York Mets baseball team, and is being built next to Shea Stadium, which it's replacing. Shea, built in 1964, is like Queens itself: an aesthetic jumble, charmingly uncomfortable and unexpectedly lovable.

The design of Citi Field, though, is strange for a stadium located in one of the most diverse places on Earth. Citi is being built to look like Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and it reflects a taste in new baseball stadium design for a retro look evoking some vague vision of Fifties, apple pie America.  read more »

New York Magazine's Vulture blog put together this little video of the street scene outside Shea Stadium for last week's "epic" Billy Joel concerts. Witness a lot of inebriated Long Islanders opining about their "white man's jesus," including self-titled "New Age" fans (fratty brodudes) and moms who rocked their son to sleep with the Piano Man's songs.

In their show review, they called Mr. Joel, "the city’s unabashedly cheesy and unexpectedly profound musical ambassador."

“Thank you, Shea Stadium,” he said, according to Jada Yuan, waving good-bye with a tear in his eye. “Don’t take shit from anybody.”

 A strong and fond memory of being a kid and growing up in New York City was my first trip to Yankee Stadium. You came out of the tunnel that led to the stands and you looked up to see the beautiful blue sky standing in contrast to the white façade above the upper deck. Then your eyes focused downward and the field came into view—and it was the deepest green you could ever imagine. The Stadium really was an urban field of dreams. Recently, major league baseball decided that more than the field should be green.

Baseball is, in many ways, a preindustrial 19th-century sport. Its pace is slow, leaving lots of time for beer and relaxed conversation between pitches and between innings. This week baseball came full circle. Billy Crystal may have stuck out, but he was a Yankee for a day. And this week both the Mets and Major league baseball went green.

The Met’s new stadium, Citi Field, will be built using recycled steel, water efficient plumbing and other green principles.  read more »

Billy Joel just added another concert date to close out Shea Stadium. He'll play another final show on Friday, July 18. The July 16 date was the fastest sell out in Shea history, with than 50,000 tickets sold on www.507TIXX.com in 48 minutes. Tickets for the second go on sale this Saturday, Feb. 23 at 9 a.m. at www.507TIXX.com and by phone at (718) 507-TIXX.

In more Shea-related rock news, a new documentary called The Clash Live: Revolution Rock will air on PBS March 1 at 11 p.m. and March 5 at 2 a.m. It'll be a preview of the April 15 DVD release which will include clips from The Clash's famous 1982 performance at Shea.  read more »

Billy Joel will have those Mets fans feelin' alright at Shea Stadium the night before the all-star game. On July 16th, "The Last Play at Shea," starring the Top 40 star, will be the final concert at the stadium before the Mets move to their new digs at Citi Field.

"Shea Stadium is one of the most hallowed venues in rock and roll history and it's an honor to help throw Shea the ultimate concert farewell party," Mr. Joel said in a statement obtained by the Czar. "As a sports fan and a music lover, I will always have a place for Shea Stadium in my heart. I thank the Mets for giving me and my fans a chance to rock Shea Stadium one last time for the ages."  read more »

We'll have some Day Two news for you in a moment. In the meantime, here's a shot from yesterday of a couple of fans taking a break from the tennis to listen to Chris "Mad Dog" Russo talking Mets-Phillies.

Finding a middle ground involves compromise. For example, I'll need to be updated by a groomsman on the night of our wedding. (Mets vs. Nationals starts 7:10, my wedding starts 7:30.)

Now, it's becoming a joy to watch baseball with Rachel because I'm watching with an insightful fan. For example, we braved the cold and wind to see the Mets take the Subway Series from the Yankees. In the eighth inning, down 4-2, the Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out. Derek Jeter hit a sacrifice fly to the right fielder Xavier Nady. With no chance to get the runner at home, Nady's throw to third kept the runner at second base.

An ex-girlfriend of mine once asked me, "What do you love more, me or baseball?"